“Paddling is becoming more and more popular,” said Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard District 1 in the Northeast. “There is a learning curve that people need to understand.”

The Coast Guard reports a rise in recreational boating deaths nationwide, and in the northeast region.

Groll said in 2016, there were 55 recreational boating deaths in the northeast, up 62 percent from 2015. Of those 55 deaths, 29 involved a paddle craft, and 45 involved a lack of life jacket.